BASSEY IKPI

Malaak Compton-Rock

THOMAS CHATTERTON WILLIAMS

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Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Now You Can: An Open Letter To Elaiwe Ikpi

By BASSEY IKPI

Dear Elaiwe,

It is morningthe day after history was brokenand rebornand your mother still carries the weightof last eveningit is a slow dawningprecious few tearsto water stain these momentsthe air is drycrispless like Novembermore like the first of a rapid eternitythere is something that tastes likepossible languishing luxe on thicktongue

the mist dormant behindeyelidsthe weight of years slidingslowly over bonesthe results camereal likestone and fleshand then he spokeand one renegade tear tracedriver down cheekbut there was no massiveflooding overno great river of emotionthere was only calmonly the cool of extended exhaleonly something stunning my evening into beautysomething like your future sun kissed and waiting

I remember how DC wailed,the surreal echo and thump of collective heartbeatsI pumped my fistscreamed belly broken as the radio sang the newslost in the celebration spilling through the streetsappreciated the car horns and cheeringparticipated in the flashing of headlightssmiles exchanged with strangers

but this was more than party for methis was more than victory for my left leaningthis was not about my views on loveand choiceand warand povertyand bloodand death

this was about you, Elaiweremember holding you newborn and squirmingunder a cloud of uncertaintyworried about the clicheand statistic you facedfacing eviction and empty bank accountsbut it was your auntie who lifted you from me,whispered to you words of hopefor the world you were enteringtold youthe story of this man they called Obamawhat his existence meant for yoursshe held you in strengthAnd I know you were listeningbecause at 2 his face beaming fromnewspapers and news reportwould shake you into a hurricane ofchantingand dancingObamaObamayes we can

you entered the worldaround the same time this brown man decidedhe had the audacity to be PresidentTo hold highest office in this country thatstill holds the weight of an enslaved peoplepeople who look like youlike melike usa country that had problems with his namea country that will one day stumble over yoursone that still mistakes boys with your facefor something other than precioussomething other than beautifulsomething point blank shot in the backor hail of bullets raining like blood showernot content to crush your spiritthey hunt and hovershoot to kill

this same countrycelebrates a black man today

but there is still so much work to be donestill injusticestill povertystill love being legislated awaystill babies brown eyed and curious like youbeing bombed out of homesand schoolsand landstill broken familiesand broken dreamsand broken bodies on sidewalks likebroken bottlesbut starting now, there is a tunnel not a vacuumthere is a lightthere is a thing called hope that singsand dances with youyou will always know a Black man as presidentand that is as good a beginning as anyno limitationsnothing short of death will hold you backno missing piece that can't be spun into goldthere will only be a room full of endless to choose fromonly the perfect shade of limitless sky

your grandfather believedbefore it was popularbefore it was realbecause that's what grandpas dothey believebelieved in you when I feared he'd just be disappointedbelieved in a President Barack Obama when most feared he'd just be disappointedbut every dayevery bit of money and time and conversationhe believedcame to this country 30 years agofor better lifefor childrenhe believedin the dreams and promise of this countryeven when his back was bent broken cleaning America's excessfrom sticky movie theatre floorshe believedworked his way through collegecollecting degree after degreehe believedtold he wasn't smart enoughor American enoughso often for so longthey had to switch to telling him he was too oldbut still he believedthrough every set back for one step forwardhe believedand when you came alongside Barackhe believed even morelast night his hope met his faith in realityit was the happiest I'd ever seen him since he met you

So Elaiwe,this is what your mother asks of you:create a life worth celebratingwhat threatens to claim and destroy youlove through themtrust thattrust that you have the tools to do what is goodand not what is easyto love like your life depends on itbecause it doesuse it to guide youChange the world because it's the right thingto dobe a smiling revolutionarykeep joy in your heart and not a chip on your shoulder

when the world threatens to eat & attackwhat's good in yourememberthe world celebrates a black man todayfor his brilliancefor his resiliencefor his possibilityfor his diplomacyand exceptionalhanded him a river of trust and hope and faith andsaid "We believe in you to help us through this. We believein us to hold you steady."despite the brokenthe wars that beat life from usthe babies who bleedthe men who bombthis moment still looms large likenorth starlike ancestors guidelike mama and grandpa's beliefin the life you will buildthe parade in your honorthis life worth celebratingthis black man that became Presidentyou brown boy who will follow his own footstepscarve his own path in historythis is guiding lightthis is you birthed in possibility

Your mother asks that you keep love in everything you dokeep you with everything you loveand continue chantingdancinglaughingsmilinggrowinglivingchangingElaiwe Elaiweyes you canyes you can

love always,Your mama.

About our MBB Contributor:Bassey Ikpi is a Nigeria-born, Oklahoma-bred, PG County-fed, Brooklyn-led writer/poet/neurotic. She’s half awesome, a quarter crazy and 1/3rd genius... the left over bit is a caramel creme center. She’s also the single mother of an amazing man-child, Elaiwe Ikpi. She kicks off her weekly talk show, Blacking It Up, featuring bloggers and political pundits discussing The Week in Blackness, tonight with co-host Elon James White. Tune in at 10 p.m. on Blog Talk Radio. And get more Bassey at basseyworld.com.